African Voices Forum

The Background

The Malcolm X Community Centre has been in decline for a considerable period of time and has recently been on the brink of closure - this has led to a small group acting as an interim board have attempted to prepare the centre for this return to community use

The Malcolm X Community Centre is a membership organisation and reviving that membership is a task that the interim board is now prioritising

What has the interim board been doing?

The group have been working on securing the day to day provision of services while addressing the legal and economic management duties needed to ensure the centre remains legal

The loss of all senior staff and the impact of 50 years of constant use on a building that has seen little in the way of refurbishment has caused major problems that still need to be addressed

The interim board is looking for the community to step up and take on the work of completing the recovery of the Malcolm X Community Centre Ltd

What needs to happen?

The community members who are qualified to do so should step up and volunteer their time to help in the saving of the Malcolm X Community Centre Ltd which means

• Generating an income for the centre
• Reducing the costs of running the centre
• Deliver on the community commitments around cultural education and traditons
• Work with community partnerships in order to ensure a network of complementary provisions are on offer to our target audiences
• Work with promoters to deliver a quality artistic programme throughout the year
• Manage the maintenance of the building and ensure the quality of service to our community

Staffing

The desperate need to secure full time professional management for the centre will become a major factor when the qualified members of the interim board step down

There is also a need to revisit the staffing structure of the centre as it is presently run as the need to have the right people in the right place at the right time is key to the centres future success

Refurbishment

The buldings that make up the MXCC complex have been allowed to fall into disrepair over the years

This will need actions taken to return all elements of the centre to full working order

Work is needed to make the centre attractive to potential service users.

Community Asset Transfer

In 2032 Bristol City Council will have the right to collect the keys for the MXCC as the lease for the centre will then be completed

In order to save this centre for the community action will need to be taken to deliver an effective CAT application to the council and this needs to be done early enough to provide time for corrections and alterations since the recovery of the site by the new council will doubtless lead people to think about its sale value.